Case Study: Testaccio Mattatoio
Testaccio mattatoio.
Testaccio means “ugly head” and refers to the 165-foot man-made hill at its center. The hill was created in the prime of the neighborhood port as workers drained imports from their giant terra-cotta amphorae into smaller, more salable vessels, broke the amphorae into shards, and tossed them onto the growing rubbish heap.
The refuse pile grew into the “ugly head,” now covered in grass. As terracotta is a nearly perfect insulator, tunnels and grottoes were dug into the mound for storing wine and food. This practice began a tradition of gastronomic activity in the area.
In 1890 Il Mattatoio, The Slaughterhouse, opened on Monte Testaccio. Architect Gioacchino Ersoch designed the facility which has been heralded for its “illustration of the transition from classicism to modernity”. The array of buildings make up a historical example of industrial architecture. Testaccio Mattatoio was responsible for the butchering and quartering of the meat for the city and beyond. good meat was sold while the undesirable “fifth quarter” was given to workers as wages.
It was common practice for the “fifth forth” to turn up in the distinctive new cuisine being born in Testaccio. Workers would carry their cut into local wine taverns and trade them for the nights drink. Tavern masters returned to the kitchen laden with offal, tails, feet, and so on and turned them into culinary masterpieces. These innovative creations are now-classic Roman dishes such as rigatoni con patata and coda alla vaccinara.
Mattatoio Abandoned
The Testaccio Mattorio was closed in the 1970’s. not much is written about why the slaughterhouse shut down, and it remained abandoned for many years. The isolation of the Ex-Mattatoio made it a perfect hideout for graffiti artists, drug users, and other derelicts. Romans called this place a “black hole”.
Ex-Mattatoio Development.
In late 2006 city of Rome authorities arrived at the Ex-Mattatoio and ordered the Kalderasha Roma and Kurdish immigrants to abandon their homes and move out (see The Itinerant). In short, the Roma were being evicted. A new project, Cittá dell’Altra Economia, or City of Another Economy, was on the agenda. Cittá dell’Altra Economia was to be a fair trade market “aimed at re-energizing the surrounding community”.
Public voices expressed fear that the revitalization project would become “regenerated to the point of institutionalization and exclusion”. The art and scholastic communities cautioned that “contemporary development and architecture too often focuses on containment and exclusions of groups” and passively chided Rome for thinking too much about the “wealth-generating impetus of our current manifestation of capitalism”. Nonetheless, the city of Rome would not back down from their ultimatum.
Architect Luciano Cupelloni was hired to do the restoration and additions, and on 29 September 2007 the 3,500 square meter project was inaugurated and opened to visitors. The Ex-Mattotoio complex includes the Academy de Belle Arti, Universityde Roma Tre, the Commune de Roma, a Cultural Center, the Villagio Globale, and Cittá dell’Altra Economia. The project required two years of building and adaptation done in close collaboration with the City of Rome, the Tavolo dell’Altra Economia, and the government of Lazio. It was important to the developers that historical elements of the facility remained intact (historical elements which fit their agenda, that is).
It was felt that the original materials and the techniques used to create and install them added to the “genius loci” of the place. Iron, brick and paving stones were kept while steel, aluminum and glass were added. The new materials that were added supplemented “according to the logic [of an] “industrial” complex built by gioacchino Ersoch”.
New construction was prefabricated off-site and designed with earthquake resistant steel. All new structures are independent of the old and if they are someday dismantled, will not damage the existing buildings. The project also uses environmentally friendly materials, employs passive systems, and 170 solar panels. glass is protected from direct solar radiation by apertures placed in the openings at the top of the north-facing skylights, which also increase airflow into the spaces.
Luciano Cupelloni’s design response for the existing long porch from 1891 and the unconnected “huts” from 1929 was a new shell: a “shrine” to cover the gap between the original porch and canopies. The design is praised for integrating old elements with the new. The series of shed roofs are flanked by large skylights screened by a double-layer of stainless steel. The steel is perforated to allow varying amounts of sunlight based on the seasons.
Ex-Mattatoio Today
During the day the Testaccio neighborhood, Ex-Mattatoio included,has a working class feel. The residents are the modest, average Roman. At night though, young visitors come from all over Rome and “take over the streets”. Testaccio after dark has become a world of bright stages, galleries, alternative music, and ideas.
Following opening in 2007 the Ex-Mattatoio Complex thrived. The schools and universities functioned well and attracted students. The Cittá dell’Altra Economia held workshops and market days. In 2009 the complex received the prestigious European award for heritage conservation, Europa Nostra. in September 2010 there was talk of shutting down Cittá dell’Altra Economia for some indiscernible reason, but all remains running and open today.
Case Study: Corviale
A Failed Utopia
Corviale, Rome
Corviale, which is just across the river from EUR, was conceptualized to be a “city within a building” when the project began in 1972. Modeled after Le Corbusier’s Unite d’Habitation, the project stood 11 stories tall with sweeping views of Rome, sculptures at all 5 entrances and shops and restaurants were planned for the fourth floor. As time passed the 4th floor continued to fail to attract businesses and when it became home to squatters it was labeled the “flying favela”. The other floors progressively declined and became a large ghetto, and the building today looks like it belongs in a war zone. How did a project that had so much going for it fail so miserably?
Rome 
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